A lukewarm start it is, for Sony TV's Desh Ki Beti...Nandini

It’s showering shows on Indian Television these days with every channel trying to bring in a change. Monday, three shows made an entry to the tube, each with an acclaimed new taste. While on one side the sexy Mallika Sherawat was being wooed by a number of desperate men (Bachelorette India on Life OK), the other had Jay Soni making a comeback with his show on public demand (Sanskaar season 2 on Colors). But this article is about the show that was much talked about for its political inclination; a show tipped to change the future of the political scenario in India – Desh Ki Beti Nandini on Sony Entertainment Television. So how did the initial episodes turn out to be? Here’s what we felt on seeing it. Produced by Rashmi Sharma, the show which looked quite promising with its talented star cast and an innovative plot, poured cold water on all our expectations. Strong words, is it? Well, having said this, we would still give the show a benefit of doubt as it is only couple of episodes old. The introduction of Nandini played by the petite Keerti Nagpure was a typical heroine’s entry where glimpses of her features were shown before her coming on screen amidst balloons. C’mon makers, this is such a done-to-death formula, we can surely expect something better. Nandini who is loved by all always stands for the right. Her family is also like any other normal family who would rather celebrate over parathas than go for pizzas. How filmy can this get!! On the other hand, the Raghuvanshi family is the prim and proper political khandaan, where the last leader has died in a stampede in his political rally. His widow, Gayatri Devi (Sujata Sehgal) now manages the threshold strongly but has her weak moments when she weeps in front of her dead husband’s portrait. The lady preserving his blood-stained kurta reminded us of Rakhee’s pledge to avenge her husband’s death in the film Ram Lakhan…Seriously, no marks here. So how is she faring post her husband’s death? Well, that’s a sorry state of affairs, as her party hasn’t been able to win the elections except for a single seat (won by a Lalu Prasad look-alike). Gayatri is pinning all her hopes on her London-returned son, Prince Rajveer and the new political analyst Abhay who she has hired to get back to ruling the country. And then enters the new kid on the block - Rafi Malik hiding his face behind his Ray-Bans and complaining about the ‘yet-to-develop’ infrastructure of the country. His bantering about the nation stands completely against the girl he is about to romance, so yes, get set to see some ‘hate-attraction-change of heart-happily ever after’ effect on the show. Coming to the cast and their performance- Keerti is a natural when it comes to playing the good girl, but we wish she could work on her pronunciation a bit. Her family (Shahab Khan, Malika Ghai, Pushkar Goggiaa and Sonam Lamba) has some special warmth that makes you feel a part of them instantly. Sujata will definitely look her part having the same strong persona off screen too – a special mention to her lovely saree (a girl cannot ignore such stuff). Manoj Chandila as Abhay will have a lot to do; all we hope is that he doesn’t disappoint us. And finally talking about Rafi, must say he is a damn lucky guy!! He makes his debut on the small screen with a role that suits his chocolate boy looks completely. He has a strong role and as he had mentioned to us in a previous interview, he is working hard to stand along as equal with the experienced cast. We hope he sticks to what he has said. The need here is for the creative team to keep the story simple and not pave into the overtly dramatic path, a glimpse of which we have already seen in the concluding scene in last night’s episode where Nandini almost swings half a kilometer before dropping right in front of Rajveer’s car. This was just unbelievable!! (pun intended) Well can’t blame them…. Iss desh ke TV shows, you see!!